Health fears as council pest control service faces the axe

PUBLIC health concerns have been raised as Denbighshire Council considers cutting its pest control service to the public.

Councillors have confirmed that all options are on the table when it comes to budget cuts in September.

A spokesperson for Denbighsire Council said: “The council is considering all of its activities and functions, in response to the need to find savings across the board.

“All pest control is delivered on behalf of the council by local businesses. The pest control service is one of many options being looked into and a final decision on any proposals will be made in September. Nothing has been confirmed.”

But Martin Self, a Ruthin based pest controller with Swift Pest Control, has already noticed the difference council policy can make to pest control.

He said: “It would definitely be a big problem. Most councils stopped baiting sewers about seven or eight years ago and rats then come up through the stench pipes into people’s homes. In my first year doing this about four years ago we had one or two cases like this but this year we have already had 13 jobs like this.”

Denbigh County Councillor, Colin Hughes said: “From my point of view this is something that is very difficult for somebody to try and arrange by themselves. There are very serious concerns that would come out of this from a health aspect.

Llandrillo councillor, Cefyn WIlliams, felt that in the light of the budget cuts that the council was facing that all options would have to be considered.

He said: “It was mooted at the last budget meeting. With the budget cuts that we have to look at over the next couple of months we have to look at everything and pest control will be one of the first things to be considered. My concern though is if this becomes a thing for private businesses then people might hesitate to tackle these problems, which could then become a public health issue.”